Cabral Gold Receives Cuiú Cuiú Operating License, Targets First Gold 6 Weeks Ahead of Schedule

• Cabral Gold has received the Operating License (LO) from Pará state environmental authority SEMAS/PA, providing regulatory consent for cyanide use in the leaching process at the Cuiú Cuiú Phase 1 gold-in-oxide heap leach project.
• Mechanical assembly of the adsorption, desorption & recovery (ADR) leach processing plant is complete, with electrical installation more than 90% complete and commissioning underway.
• First gold production is now targeted for September 2026, approximately 6 weeks ahead of schedule, with commercial production ramp-up planned during the fourth quarter of 2026.
• The project has logged 592,380 combined hours worked between the Owners' Team and contractors, recording its first Lost Time Incident at a Lost Time Injury Rate of 0.34.
• A workforce of 312 employees and contractors is on site, 100% Brazilian and approximately 67% from the state of Pará.

Company Overview

Cabral Gold (TSXV: CBR | OTCQX: CBGZF) is a junior resource company engaged in the exploration, development, and near-term production of gold properties in Brazil, holding a 100% interest in the Cuiú Cuiú gold district in the Tapajós Region of Pará state, northern Brazil. Three main gold deposits at Cuiú Cuiú host resources of 12.29 million tonnes at 1.14 grams per tonne gold (450,200 ounces) in harder, deeper rock and 13.56 million tonnes at 0.50 grams per tonne gold (216,182 ounces) in near-surface material, at a confidence level the company classifies as Indicated. A further 13.63 million tonnes at 1.04 grams per tonne gold (455,100 ounces) in deeper rock and 6.4 million tonnes at 0.34 grams per tonne gold (70,569 ounces) in near-surface material are classified at a lower confidence level, known as Inferred. These estimates are based on independent technical reports dated October 12, 2022, October 21, 2024, and July 29, 2025. The company is currently building its Phase 1 processing operation based on the 2025 study, targeting commercial gold production in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Operating License Secures the Path to Production

Cabral Gold announced on August 13, 2026, that it has received the Operating License (LO) from the Pará state environmental authority, SEMAS/PA, for its Phase 1 gold-in-oxide heap leach project at the Cuiú Cuiú Gold District. The LO provides all necessary regulatory consent for the use of cyanide in the leaching process and builds on the Preliminary License (LP) granted by SEMAS/PA earlier in 2026. Cabral said the approval will form the foundation for future licensing initiatives to migrate to a Full Mining License at Cuiú Cuiú during the 2026 calendar year.

Final regulatory approval for cyanide use was also received from Brazilian military authorities, authorizing the purchase and transport of cyanide required for the leaching process.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Alan Carter, commented: 

"We have continued to make excellent progress on the construction of our Phase 1 gold-in-oxide heap leach project at Cuiú Cuiú during the last few weeks. I am particularly pleased that we have received our Operating License together with the cyanide permit. Mechanical assembly of the ADR plant is also now complete which represents another major milestone. The focus regarding commissioning has now moved from the dry to the wet processing circuit and we now expect to produce our first gold 6 weeks ahead of schedule with commercial gold production expected during the fourth quarter of this year."

Processing Plant Construction & Commissioning

Construction of the wet processing circuit at Cuiú Cuiú is more than 90% complete. The ADR plant arrived on site in late July 2026, and Como Engineering has been engaged to manage plant assembly, electrical installation, process control implementation, commissioning, and operator training. Mechanical assembly of the plant is now complete, and electrical installation and testing are over 90% complete.

Heap leach pad No. 2 is due to be completed by the end of August 2026. Subsurface solution collection systems for heap leach pads 3 and 4 are complete, with the final step of applying crushed rock over the collection pipes planned for September and October, in line with schedule. Cabral noted that significant volumes of processing reagents, including cement and cyanide, along with diesel fuel, were delivered to site during the past month in support of commissioning activities. Expenditures and schedule continue to track in line with the Pre-Feasibility Study, effective July 29, 2025.

Commissioning has been separated into two phases. The first, covering the dry circuit (mineral sizer, agglomerator, and stacker) and placement of ore on the prepared heap leach pads, has been completed. The second phase, covering the wet circuit, is underway and will begin with the carbon adsorption columns, followed by desorption and ultimately the production of gold dore. This phase is being jointly managed by Cabral, Como Engineering, and Strategic Metallurgy, an Australia-based metallurgical commissioning consultancy, with a focus on production ramp-up effectiveness, process efficiency, and operator training. Mining, processing, and stacking of ore is already in progress, and irrigation of the first zone of the first pad is expected to commence within days.

Safety & Workforce

The project's Owners' Team has worked 217,047 hours during 2026, while contractors have worked 375,333 hours, for a combined total of 592,380 hours. The project recorded its first Lost Time Incident (LTI) during the past month, resulting in a Lost Time Injury Rate (LTIR) of 0.34, defined as lost time incidents incurred for every 200,000 hours worked. A member of the Owners' Team suffered a non-critical injury to his left knee while using a chainsaw and was evacuated to Itaituba for medical assessment; he remains off work while continuing his recovery.

Carter addressed the incident directly: 

"Whilst we did record our first LTI on site during 2026, it was a non-critical injury and the individual is making a good recovery. Our commitment to the safety of our staff remains of the utmost importance despite the challenges that come with a rapid development timeline, difficult weather conditions at times, and a new construction workforce."

A total of 312 employees and contractors are currently engaged on the construction project, comprising 107 Owners' Team personnel and 205 contractor personnel, excluding the off-site engineering team and Cabral's in-country exploration and administrative team. All employees and contractors are Brazilian, with approximately 67% drawn from the state of Pará.

Next Steps

The project's operating priorities for the fourth quarter of 2026 are assembling a strong operating team, a safe transition into operations, and ramping up production. Commissioning of the wet circuit is expected to be completed during late September 2026, with first gold production targeted for September, approximately 6 weeks ahead of the original schedule. Commercial production ramp-up is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to the progress and success of the commissioning program's various milestones.

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